Car seat



Oct. 12, 1937.

A. B. BELL CAR SEAT Filed Nov. '7, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. B. BELL f Oct. 12, 1937.

CAR SEAT Filed Nov. 7 1934 CAR SE Filed Nov 7' 34 3 Shee1;' 3

m W I 3/ 7 in? 771 :3 i Walk {$1 1 'M'QLA, 7 4/ J,

Patented Oct. 12, 1937 PATENT OFFICE CAR SEAT- Alfred B. Bell, Gardner, Mass., assignor to Heywood-Wakefield Company, Boston, corporation of Massachusetts Mass., a

Application November 7, 1934, Serial No. 751,847

6 Claims.

This invention relates to reversible seats of the rotatable type suitable for railway cars and similar vehicles in which it may be desired to reverse the direction in which the seat faces.

The present tendency in railway equipment is toward lightness of weight and economy of space. To this end it is desirable that the seats for a railway car be as lightly and simply constructed as is consistent with requisite strength for the 10 comparatively severe usage to which they are customarily subjected. In railway cars, the seats are customarily arranged so that one end is adjacent toa side wall'of the car. In seats of the rotating reversible type, provision must be made to enablethe corners of the seat to clear the wall as theseat turns. It is desirable that the end of the seat be closely' adjacent to the car wall when the seat is in either position of use so that waste space between the seat and the wall may be avoided and. the aisle may have maximum width. The corners of the seat may be made to clear the car wall as the seat turns, by the provision of mechanism such that the seat frame shifts away from the wall during the initial portion of the rotation from one position of use to the other, and shifts back toward the car wall d uring the final portion of such rotation. Since the backs of seats are customarily sloped rearwardly, it is desirable that the back be tilted forward during the initial portion of the rotation of the seat so that its upper :corners will clear the backs of adjacent seats on the same side of the car.

According to the present invention, improved mechanism has been provided for accomplishing these results, namely, the endwise shift of the seat away fromthe wall during the initial portion of its rotation-and back toward the wall during the final portion of its rotation, and the automatic forward tiltingof thefback of the seat during-the initial part of the rotation, the seat back returning to its normal angle of inclination during the final portion of' therotation of the'seat. My improved structurel'is relatively simple, ,is light fin weight, butfis strong and rug ed. Ihe weight of the seat and b'ackis furthermore utilized in a novel man'nerto maintain the seat firmly ineither of its positions of use. Additional means is also provided for holding the seat againstanyflooseness or rocking in any direction when it is in either of itspositionsof use.f i-lrvariousadditional advantageous features and details iwill be apparent to oneskille d in the art from .the disclosure" of embodiment or the invention in the following description, and on the accompanying drawings of which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a car chair embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is similar to Figure 3, the movable members being shown in a different position.

Figure 5 is a front elevation similar to Figure 1, but showing a central supporting pedestal.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-45 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 'll of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a sectionalview similar to Figure '7, showing the seat swung half-way around.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary section of the seat pivot, this section being taken on the line 9--9 of Figure '7.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the hold-down devices.

It is evident from Figures 1 and 5 that one important advantage of mechanism embodying the present invention is that it requires relatively little vertical height, so that if, as shown in Figure 1, the car wall be provided with a support l5 for one end of the seat and a pedestal l6 be provided under the aisle end of the seat, considerable space is left under the seat for the storage of hand baggage. If preferred, a central pedestal Il may be provided, as illustrated inFigure 5, which is independent of the car wall. Whether the bracket i5 and the pedestal IE or a central pedestal ll be employed, a stationary frame may be mounted thereon to support the seat pivot. As shown, this frame may consist of a pair of frame members such as T-irons suitably secured to the supporting pedestal. Permanently secured to these frame members is a horizontal plate 22 which holds the members in suitable fixed spaced relation, and stiffensthe stationary frame as a whole. A movable seat-supporting frame 25 is hinged to an intermediate frame 26 as at 2B, the hinges being adjacent to the front edge of the seat. As shown in Figures Band '7, the seat frame 25 bears directly on the'stationary base when the seat is in either position of use. This relieves the intermediate frame 26 of the weight of the seat and its occupants when in use. It is understood that the members of the frame 25, instead of being of bar stock as indicated on the drawingsmay be made of tubing to saveweight. As shown, the intermediate frame 26 may be constructed in the generalform of an A; the apex of which carries a pivot member 3|] which projects downwardly through a slot 3| in the plate 22 so that the pivot member can rotate and move laterally in the slot. In order to provide for simultaneous rotation and lateral shifting of the frames 25 and 26, the plate 22 may also be provided with a crescent-shaped cam slot 32 in which rides a cam follower 33 mounted on the cross bar of the A-shaped seat frame 26. As is evident from Figure 3, when the seat frame starts to turn from the position shown in full lines, the pivot immediately starts to move away from the car wall, this resulting in lateral movement of the seat frame itself away from the Wall as it turns. The cam follower 33 thentravels along the cam slot 32, reaching the opposite. end of the slot when the seat reaches its otherposi-' tion of use. The final portion of this motion moves the pivot 3!] and the seat frame back toward the car wall.

As indicated especially in Figures 7 and 8, novel means for causing the seat frame 25 to rock forward during the'initial portion of the rotation is provided. As shown, a bell crank 40 is pivotally mounted as at 4| on a carrier 42 which is adjustably mounted on the plate 22. The bell crank consists of a long arm 43, preferably having at the end thereof a roller 45, and a shorter arm 46 connected by a link 4T to a collar 50 which is loosely mounted on the pivot member 3. The link 41 may be conveniently formed with a pair of arms 5| which extend about the collar 50 and rock on trunnions 52 projecting from the collar. The link 41 and the short arm 46, being pivotally connected as at 53, form a toggle joint which, as hereinafter explained, is effective in helping to maintain theseat securely in one or the other position of use. The roller 45 bearsagainst the under face of a plate fiilwhich', as'shown in Figures 3 and. 4, may be of modified crescent shape so that the roller 45 willengage some portion of its under face during the entire movement of the seat from one position of use'to the other. By welding a stiffening bar or tube 6| alongthe rear edge of the plate 50, relatively thin metal can be used for the plate 60. The plate and tube 6| are a part of the seat frame 25. In order'to strengthen the pivot mechanism, a lower plate 62 may be rigidly secured below and parallel to the plate 22 as by suitable frame members 63. A slot 65 is provided in this lower plate directly beneath the slot 3|. The pivot member 33'projects through both slots and is slidable therein.

Figure '7 illustrates the position of the parts when the seat is in a position of use. The initial rotation of the seat from a position of use is about the cam follower 33" as a pivot, the central pivot .30 starting lateral movement along the slot 3|. As is evident from Figure 7, such lateral movement of the pivot 30 toward the right rocks the bell crank, 40' so as to elevate the roller 45. Since this roller constantly bears against the under face of the plate 66 which is a part of the seat frame, the rising of the roller 45 causes the seat frame 25 .to tilt upwardly so; that the seat back which is rigidly attached to the seat frame 25 thus rocks forward. This rocking movement continues until the pivot 30 reaches its extreme position toward the right as in Figure 8, this position being reached when the seat has been.

turned to an angle of 90; The bell crank 40 is so shaped that the long arm 43 is substantially vertical at this stage of rotation of the seat'so that the elevationof the roller 45 is at its maximum. Further rotation; of the seat resu s in movement of the pivot 30 toward the left until it reaches the position shown in Figure 7 and the tiltable seat frame 25 is restored to its original level. The angle of tilt of the seat frame 25 may be augmented, if desired, by shaping the plate 60 as indicated in Figure 7 so that the plate itself acts as a cam having high portions 61 and 68 sloping to a low portion 10 near the midpoint of the plate. It is evident that,. as theroller 45 moves from a high portion to the central low portion, the effect is to increase the tilt of the seat frame 25.

i It is highly desirable that a car seat in either position of use be firmly held against any wabbling or other loose motions. To this end, I provide. a number of hold-down lugs 15 such, for example, as are illustrated in Figure 10. These lugs are securely fastened in fixed position and may be conveniently mounted on the stationary frames 20 as shown. Each lug has an upstanding portion 16 and an overhangingiportion 11, the under face ofwhich isengageable by one or another of a number of lugs and 8| which are fixed on the seat frame 25. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, eight such lugs may be provided, these lugs being arranged in pairs projecting in opposite directions from a front-to-rear member of the frame 25. Each pair consists of a lug 80 and a lug 8|. To cooperate with the lugs 80. and 8|, I preferably provide four fixed hold-down members 15 as indicated in Figures 3 and 4. Since the initial movement of the rotatable portion of the seat is away from the car wall, the hold-down lugs 15-are preferably arranged so that their overhanging portions Tl project in a direction away from the car wall. 7 When the car seat is in one position of use, the four lugs 80 en'- gage under the overhanging portions llof the hold-down members '|5. When the seat isreversed to its other position of use, the overhanging portions 11 are engaged by the lugs 8| Thus the wear onthe lugs is divided, since the lugs 80 are in use half of the time and. the lugs 8| are in use the other half of the time. The frame members 84, on which the lugs 80 and 8| are mounted, are adapted to rest solidly on bearing elements when the seat is in either of its positions of use. As shown, the bearing elements may be portions of the fixed frame members 20 on which the hold-down elements 15 are mounted; Thus, when the seat is in a position of use, the frame members 84 are held firmly on the frame members 20 by the engagement of the lugs 80' and BI with the overhanging elements 11. This effectively prevents any wabbling or rocking movement of the seat frame 25. Since the initial portion of rotative movement of the seat necessarily results in a tilting movement of the seat frame 25, the resultant motion of the seat frame and of the-lugs 80 and 8| is an ascending spiral from either position of rest to the midpoint of the turn; and then a descending spiral to the other position of rest. In order. not to interfere with the initial and final portions of these spiralmovements of the. lugs 80 and 8|, the overhanging elements 1'! have their corners bent up as'at 85. These act as cam members to be engaged by the lugs 80 and 8| during the final portion of the descending spiral so as to wedge the frame members 84' tightly against the fixed frame'members 20. Thus the seat frame is virtually clamped in position and is rigidly held therein. In order to coordinate the tilting and turning movements so that the hold-down lugs 'willfdescribed; the cor rect spiral pathsflto bring, them into proper en? gagement under the bent-up corners 85, the

block 42, on which the bell crank 40 is rockably mounted, may be slidablyadjustable on the plate 22. An adjusting screw 86 may be threaded through a flange 87 in the block 42 with setscrews 88 to hold the block in adjusted position.

It is evident from Figure 7 that the weight of the seat bears on'the bell crank 40 with maximum mechanical advantage when the seat is in a position of use, and that in this position the toggle joint 53 comes as near as it can to alinement of the links 46 and 41. These features of construction result in a firm locking of the seat in position until it is simultaneously lifted and turned manually. In order to assist the lifting and turning of theseat, a compression spring 90 may be mounted on a stem 9| which projects from the collar 56 toward the car wall, this stem ,mally horizontal arm and .a downwardly projecting arm rockably mounted on said plate,

. connecting means between said pivot member and said downwardly projecting arm for rocking said bell-crank when said pivot member is moved in its slot, and a seat frame tiltably supported in said base, said frame having an element engaged by the free end of said horizontal arm of the bell-crank whereby movement of the pivot member results in tilting of the seat frame.

2. In a reversible car seat or the like, a stationary base, a tiltable seat frame rotatable from one position of use to a reversed position of use, said frame resting directly on said base when in either position of use, means for causing said frame to shift endwise of said base and to tilt forward when rotated from either position of use, and hold-down means forsecuring said frame against wabbling when in either position of use, said means'including a plurality of spaced overhanging lugs mounted on said-base, a corresponding set of lugs on said frame engaging under said overhanging lugs when the seat is in one position of use, and a second set of lugs on said frame engaging said overhanging lugs when the seat is in the reverse position of use. a

3. A reversible car seat comprising a stationary base, atiltable and rotatable seat frame carried by said base, means for causing the seat frame to shift laterally when rotated, and means responsive to lateral shifting of said seat frame to cause said seat frame totilt, said last-mentioned means including a lever pivotally mounted on said base, said lever having an arm rockable upwardly against said seat frame and means laterally movable with said seat frame and operatively connected to said lever to rock the same.

4. A reversible car seat comprising a stationary base, a tiltable and rotatable seat frame carried by said base, means for causing said seat frame to shift laterally when rotated, said means including a pivot member connected to said frame and slidably mounted on said base, and means responsive to shifting movement of said frame and pivot member to tilt said frame, said last-mentioned means including a bell-crank pivoted on said base, said bell-crank having one arm bearing against the bottom of said seat frame and another arm operatively connected to said pivot member.

5. A reversible car seat comprising a stationary base, a tiltable and rotatable seat frame carried by said base, means for causing said seat frame to shift laterally when rotated, and means responsive to shifting movement of said seat frame to cause said frame to tilt, said lastnamed means including a non-plane cam plate mounted on the bottom of the seat frame and an element vertically movable with respect to the base in response to lateral shifting movement of the seat frame and bearing against said cam plate, said cam plate having an inclined surface slidably engaged by said element and shaped to augment the tilting effect of the element on the seat frame.

6. A reversible car seat comprising a stationary base, an intermediate frame rotatable and laterally shiftable on said base, a seat frame hinged to said intermediate frame to rotate and shift therewith and to rock relatively thereto, means for controlling the movements of said intermediate frame including a pivot element laterally slidable on said base from and to a normal vposition, spring means tending to move said element laterally away from its normal position, means responsive to lateral'movement of said element to cause said seat to rock on its hinges, said last-named means including a bell-crank pivsaid second arm, and means for adjusting the bell-crank pivot toward or away from said pivot element.

ALFRED 'B. BELL. 

